The Rt Hon David Laws MP, Minister of State for Schools, has written to Catholic schools across the country to congratulate them on the work they have done to improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

21 Catholic Secondary schools were awarded with £5,000 as qualifying KS4 schools in the Pupil Premium Awards. The Award rewards schools that are able to provide evidence of effective strategies to improve the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and show sustained improvement in raising their attainment.

Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education said; “It is a testimony to the hard work of staff and pupils in Catholic schools that our sector is overrepresented in this award. Catholic schools’ mission to the poor and vulnerable is clearly being played out in all Catholic schools and the 21 schools who have won this award are exemplary of this. Congratulations to all those schools.”

Catholic schools were over represented constituting 15% of the 140 of secondary schools that had qualified. All the schools have been invited to apply for the next regional and national stages of the award.

Paul Stubbings, Headmaster of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School , a winner of the Award, said, “This award is really welcome to us because, on top of our excellent raw results, it recognises the hard and effective work we have been doing for years to add value to the education of our most disadvantaged pupils. This in practice means higher grades and improved life chances.”